As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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The "view" off the balcony was certainly different from yesterday! A foggy, drizzly day is a perfect day to go shopping. Do you have a photo of your cork handbag? I'd love to go to that bookstore someday.
Caught up on your road trip and your foggy day. Your photos do a wonderful job showing what the area is like - some of those roads are really narrow!
I agree that, even though the fog made for less than perfect sightseeing, the photos have lots of atmosphere and are enjoyable to see.
Thanks for following along, glad you enjoy the photos.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
The "view" off the balcony was certainly different from yesterday! A foggy, drizzly day is a perfect day to go shopping. Do you have a photo of your cork handbag? I'd love to go to that bookstore someday.
The book store was very interesting and very crowded.
We woke up early, had breakfast and checked out of the hotel at 9:08 am. There was light rain and dense fog, so we had a fun drive ahead of us.
A little background, as I said at the start of the report my DH was born in Portugal. His father came to Canada when my DH was a year old, and my DH and his twin brother came over with their new stepmom when they were 4. My DFIL still has a house in a little town called Casais Martanes, about 45 minutes north of Lisbon, so a great location. My DH still has lots of family in Portugal, one Aunt and Uncle live right next door to DFIL’s house. When we go to Portugal we spend some time at the house and the rest of the time traveling, as there is so much to see. For me it is never enough time at the house and yet never enough time traveling.
We left the hotel and headed to Casais Martanes, again we took the main highway as I was in a hurry to see my Tia (Tia is aunt in Portuguese). I call her my Tia as she is just one of those people you instantly fall in love with. She only speaks a few words of English and I only speak a few words of Portuguese but somehow we make it work.
We stopped for lunch and gas and arrived home at 1:00 pm, after a lot of hugs and kisses we unpacked and started laundry.
DH Sandwich
My sandwich and our shared dessert.
Since we were staying at the house for 6 days we needed to get some groceries. So we headed into Torres Novas about 15 minutes away. We stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on easy to prepare items and of course lots of bread and pastries. We also stopped to purchase an Internet stick, as we do not have Internet at the house. We got back to the house and hung up the laundry, yep we do not have a dryer, in fact most people in Portugal do not have dryers, when you drive through cities you see laundry hanging from all the apartments. On our first trip to Portugal we did not have a washer either, we just had a tub with a scrubber built into it, so I had to do all the laundry by hand. When my DFIL saw how much I loved Portugal and he knew I would be going back he bought a washer.
Someone helping me with the laundry?
We then went over to the Tios’ (Aunt/Uncle) house, we caught up and then had dinner. Tia is a very good cook and always cooks lots of food. We had soup, salad, rice, potatoes, chicken, strawberries, and pudding Flan. We stayed and visited until 9 and then went to our house to relax before bed.
Outside of the house, our side is on the right with the lighter tile.
The back yard
Costs today:
Lunch €13.15
Groceries € 90.12
Tips € 7.00
Tolls € 14.95
Internet € 29.90
Gas € 40.03 L @ 1.499 = € 60
Slippers € 9.95
Up next: hard work around the house for a few days.
Thank you, you can see I got a little addicted to the cork items. Most of it was reasonably priced, the purses tend to be a little more about 75 to 100 euros.
I love this update! It really makes you feel like you are one of them. What sweet people your Tia and Tio sound! Love the house, the garden the yard!
They are very sweet, my DH's family in Portugal have always made me feel very welcome, his step family in Winnipeg not so much with the exception of a few. I wish we had space in Winnipeg for a garden like that. I believe the garden has orange, pear, plum trees in addition to a variety of vegetables. We did have a banana tree but we had a fire a few years back and it never really recovered.
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Thanks for posting the photos of the cork items! I don't use any leather and am always looking for alternatives-- these are beautiful!
Your house and garden are just wonderful. Your Tia and Tio sound like wonderful, welcoming people. What a treat to stay for a while and visit with them, but have your own quarters to stay in.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Great pictures of Porto and of your house in Lisbon!
Thank you
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Thanks for posting the photos of the cork items! I don't use any leather and am always looking for alternatives-- these are beautiful!
My DD also does not wear leather, it can be a challenge finding shoes for her.
Your house and garden are just wonderful. Your Tia and Tio sound like wonderful, welcoming people. What a treat to stay for a while and visit with them, but have your own quarters to stay in.
We get the best of both worlds, we can visit then go have our alone time.
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